Forget what you know

Software development is a field of constant change.  Just because you know how to do something one day doesn't mean that way will always work, or that there won't ever be a better way. So, go ahead.  Throw it all out.  Toss aside everything you think you know.  Well, maybe not all of it.  Just the pieces that are holding you back and preventing you from learning new things.

We sometimes get stuck in doing something that works just because it works and that's the way it's always been done.  I recently saw a comic depicting a teenage girl stranded on a desert island and in the caption she lamented that she was never going to get off the island because she ran out of rocks before she could complete a message of distress on the beach.  She stared, distraught, at the incomplete message at her feet:  #HEL.

It was good for a laugh, but it also illustrates something that happens to all of us.  This poor girl had been taught by example and experience that printed communication is done using hashtags.  It was what she had learned and what she knew how to do, so when the time came to put her skills to use, it's what she did.  Most of us reading that comic understand there was a better way to communicate, but this girl was stuck on what she knew.  Now, before we start criticizing this young lady, let's take a step back and examine ourselves.

In a recent Stake Conference, we were instructed by an Area Seventy whose name escapes me at the moment.  He taught about the difference between form and power, citing the scripture in the Doctrine in Covenants that warns us against things that have the form of godliness but deny the power thereof.  Most of us misinterpret this scripture.  We take it as a simple declaration of the evils of hypocrisy.  We understand it to mean that we must do more than simply appear to be good, we just actually be good.  Those are fair and valid points, but this scripture goes deeper than that.

First, we must understand that there is nothing wrong with having the form of godliness.  The scriptures are full of examples of forms and patterns that allow us to draw closer to God.  Large portions of the Old Testament are dedicated to describing in detail the forms that God's people were to follow.  Having the form of godliness is something we should all desire to have and emulate.  But it doesn't stop there.

One of the most common and easy to identify examples of something that has the form of godliness is the method of Home Teaching in the Church.  For those unfamiliar with the program, priesthood holders in each ward are assigned in pairs to visit, teach, and care for several families within the ward.  The Home Teaching program has been around for so long that is has developed a form (which is not necessarily supported by scripture or doctrine) of visiting each family assigned once a month and sharing a brief (or not-so-brief) message.  Most of these visits occur on the last day of each month so that when it comes time to report on your visits you can check a box next to each family for that month.

Going back to the concept of form versus power, the form is important, but only inasmuch as it leads us to discover the power.  Staying with our Home Teachers, visiting families each month is great, as long as it serves as a building block.  Think of what may happen as these men spend time each month with a family.  They get to know the family.  They find out what challenges this family has.  Bonds of friendship form and grow.  When the family is in need, they begin to understand to whom they can go for help.  Both Home Teacher and Home Teachee are strengthened and uplifted.  The form gives way to the power.

When the Savior came to earth he taught that it was a fulfillment of the law of Moses.  The form had served its purpose and the Savior came to add power.  Remember that the scriptures warn only against those things that have the proper form but deny the power.  The Savior taught us how to use the form to get to the power.  Power lies beyond form, not apart from it.  They are tied together.  Form allows for structure and stability, but it is not the goal.

So, forget what you know about Home Teaching.  Forget what you know about how to help someone in need.  Move past simply following the form, rather use the form as a platform on which to stand so that you can reach the power of Heaven.